Elsa Maxwell was obviously destined to be the life of the party from
birth. That occasion came one memorable evening in the back of a
theater box at Keokuk, Iowa. Her mother had miscalculated and had
confidently gone to the opera that evening. Elsa's birth cry rose
mightily in the middle of a road company mezzo's big aria and
overpowered an ill-fated Mignon. After that impressive debut, Elsa grew
up poor, plain and plump. Her father was an insurance man and part-time
drama...